A Few Great Memoirs (Non-Celeb Edition)
WSIR 17: Some people have real situations
Whenever I read a great memoir, I think about the old adage that “everyone has a story in them.”
Which … mmkay … but is there a central committee to whom I may petition, so we can refine this saying? Something like, “everyone has a story in them but some people have real stories”?
Anyway, I love human stories, including memoirs. Celebrity memoirs can be fascinating with their juicy and rarified worlds but the best “civilian memoirs” appeal to me because they are both deeply personal while reminding that, but for the grace of God, it could have happened to any of us.
It has to be intimate, specific and vulnerable (otherwise it feels like it’s a book being written, not an honest reflection), but a great memoir also helps me think about the largest, most human issues of [insert topic here: family, parenting, grace, trauma, healing, etc.]
And, as always, the writing needs to be powerful. Maybe it’s eye-blinkingly literary, maybe it’s searing in its simplicity, but it absolutely cannot be the clunky ghost-writing many memoirs try to fob off on us.
So with that in mind, here are a few memoirs I love (including a roundup from ye olde archive):
Books that take the world by storm aren’t always great, but Educated deserved all its praise and more. The author grows up on a rural Idaho hillside with a paranoid, survivalist father who essentially opts them out of society - no school, no doctors, no record of their existence, and deep family trauma. And yet by her sheer tenacity, she goes on to earn her PhD from Cambridge. A true “this is unbelievable” story and tender, gifted writing.
I just finished the new A Knock at Midnight after hearing the author on Fresh Air (ILY TERRY GROSS) and … whew. A corporate lawyer becomes a pro bono legal warrior for people who received egregious prison sentences due to the inequitable War on Drugs. Partially because her own mother was incarcerated for addiction, partially because she grew up with people hit by these draconian policies, and partially because she’s an empathetic person, her work is about conveying the humanity of those who are “buried alive” in prison. TBH I would have liked a little more of her personal story but still - I cried, I marveled, I read it in a day. (More criminal justice recos here.)
I don’t know anyone who read Unfollow if I didn’t badger them to do so (shout out to my very tolerant friend Joanna) but I found. It. FASCINATING. It’s by a woman who grew up in the insular Westboro Baptist Church (of the “picketing military funerals with homophobic signs” ignominy). At one point their most vocal advocate, through interactions via social media (!) she starts to question the church’s teachings. In a time of intolerance and conspiracies, this gives important insight into how people can unlearn existentially held biases and beliefs; it’s also a really moving story about separating from family.
Prisoner is the story of Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post bureau chief who was arrested and held in an Iranian prison for nearly two years on fabricated charges of spying. (You may remember him from the Iranian Parts Unknown episode.) It has the elements of an espionage thriller mixed with a personal story of resilience in the face of torture, topped with a full-throated, urgent defense of free journalism.
Lastly, a totally different take on the memoir is In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado. Because she could not find any stories about women being abused by their female partners, she set out to create ones in every literary trope. The result is this experimental kaleidoscope of essays, fragments, and short stories that goes from poetry to a “choose your own adventure” story to gothic horror to TV-sitcom, while recounting her abusive relationship. It’s weird, challenging (very Iowa Writers’ Workshop), and really beautiful.
And from the archive (click title for more context):
A Year of Shakespeare: Back at It, Baby!
Finished: King Lear. I recognize that this is simplistic but all I could think about was A Recent President and the collateral damage of excessive pride and demanded loyalty. I didn’t feel that sympathetic to Lear but did for those around him. Also, Shakespearean dialogues with madness or The Fool really make my brain work overtime.
Not fully pacing with the year (17% over!) but not terrible (13% of complete works).
And a few last notes:
My fancy-shmancy header, as well as other created images, were made in Projector (Hayley, you’re my hero). It’s a remarkably easy-to-use design tool if you don’t know Photoshop but still want to make a cute image for crying out loud.
Links are to Bookshop.org, which supports independent bookstores. Yay! You can see alllll my past recos here.
As always, please let me know if you have any book requests by commenting or simply responding to this email! And please share with any other book-lovin’ friends.